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Joining Lord of the rings Online soon, few questions.
Roche7
Member Posts: 89
My wife and I have decided to leave WoW and this looks to be the best place to go. We have played EQ, FFXI and WoW. Each for a long peroid of time. ok anyways....
What classes are hardest to find? high demand?
I like support/buffer/healer and tank classes, she likes ranged dps(magic) and healers. I am trying to understand how healers, tanks and buffer/support work here. The class discription doesnt really help me any. Can I get a compairson to classes in EQ/WoW/FFXI to get a better idea? Minstrel is listed as beginner, does that mean easy to learn to play or any monkey can do it? Lore-master listed as advanced, what does this mean?
We like to spend most of our time with just us. Any problems with this in LoTRO? What classes work well together?
We like to explore and quest and dont have much time for raids anymore, how long would it take to run out of stuff to do at level cap without raiding? How does the storyline/quests compare to FFXI? How is char control/movement? Is it similar to WoW or EQ/FFXI?
Thanks in advance for any info.
woops, Forgot the main question I wanted to ask. Does every race start in the same place? and if not how hard is it to get together?
Comments
A quick answer, it's different, I am not the most experienced player but I have played a bit here and there
Minstrel - Healer/Buffer
Loremaster - Pet Class
Hunter - Range DPS
Champion - Melee DPS
Guardian - Tank
Burgular / Champion - not sure havent really toyed with them much
Some races start in different places, I'll let you find out which ones.
Welcome to LotRo, I'm sure you'll find it fun.
First of, I hope you enjoy LOTRO. I sure am. LOTRO can be the most boring game ever, and the most fun game ever. LOTRO is not a game to be played alone, in your case that wont be a problem.
I'll get on with answering your questions:
All classes are in demand really, too many hunters though it seems... but you wont really be shunned away for any class like rogues are at times in WoW.
Support/bugger/healer? You'll probably LOVE captain (Paladinish) or Lore-Master (Druidish) and your wife will probably enjoy Minstrel or Lore-Master. They cant really be compared to WoW, about EQ and FFXI im not sure since I have not played those games. Classes are unique, and I have yet to find any of the classes boring. Minstrels are easy and fun to play, but you DO have to think a bit... any monkey cant do it I suppose... Lore-Masters are kind of hard to get used to/master since they're pretty unique. But they're DEFINATELY not something that you'll struggle to play with. (Side Note: Lore-Masters ARE in demand a bit more than others)
Not at all, infact... playing together will be A LOT more fun. ANY class can work together pretty much, and based on you and your wifes' class choices, it should be all the more enjoyable. I have played with my friend as a burglar (Both were Hobbit Burglars) and we got to level 20 together and took WAAAAY longer than what it should take, but got all titles and deeds and did every single quest we could... most FUN time in any MMO I have ever had was then.
You'll love exploring, theres a lot of exploring to do in LOTRO. Story line is AMAZING... cant compare it to FFXI but yeah... its REALLY immersive. I have only done 2 raids (Have been playing since a little after launch) and my highest level is still only level 23 (DONT LET THIS SCARE YOU. I barely level, I do lots of other things... and im probably the worst leveler ever.... take this for comparison, I took about a year to reach level 60 in WoW... not because thats just how long it took me, but because I easily get distracted by other stuff.)
Character control and movement is very similar to WoW, this game is not at all hard to get used to... and its REALLY fun.
No, all races have unique starter zones... getting together is a horse / pony ride away... just finish the tutorial part (Intro to epic story line) which wont take more than 30 mins (this is STRETCHING IT) or you both can finish your epic race storylines together one at a time... not hard at all.
If you need more help, im just bored right now... we can talk on MSN or something and I'll let you know more interesting facts that will make you want LOTRO more
___________________
Give me a good skill based sandbox game, and i'll give you a cookie!
I'd say one of you takes a minstrel, the other a guardian. These are the 2 role that are essential to a decent group.
The race issue wont be very important, it'll take you around 10h of gaming max to get back together, since yo ualready played mmos probably less.
Btw are you going ot play euro or us? if you play eyuro and join the snowbourne server i'd be happy to show you around.
I'm not a no life that sits in front of his computer all day long, I'm an intern that sits in front of his computer all day long.
Champions - DPS -(Much like the Warrior in WoW)
Burglar - Crowd control (Similar to a Rogue in WoW but much better to play) Useful in group for pulling off group manouvers
Lore-Master - Used in raids / Instance mainly for Crowd control - has some real useful group skills like poison removal and buffing power (Similar to a Druid in WoW) Has pets
Minstrel - Main Healer / Resurrection class however doe have a damage mode which helps with solo play.
Hunter - Ranged DPS
Captain - Provides most of the decent buffs / Backup healer - Has pets in the form of a Herald
Guardian - Tank
On my server EU - Laurelin , Lore-Masters and Tanks seem to be in demand at the higher levels., but this changed alot - you'll be ok whatever you choose.If two of you are playing pick a DPS/Tank and a Healer or buffer.
HAVE FUN
Yah I'd agree with everything said so far -- based on your personal descriptions of style preferences I'd go with Captain for yourself and Loremaster for you wife although Guard is the main tanking class, minstrel the main healing class, and captain is the main buffing class -- loremaster is the only *magic like* class in game atm and involves pets and crowdcontrol -- but also can do some healing. Captains like I said buff, but are also a heavy armour class and with their own buffs can generate the highest morale totals of any classes in game. So they are adequate for tanking in non instance situations -- well geared captains have taken on some heavier duty tanking situations however there is very little ability to *hold* agro. With a duo that won't be too much of an issue since both classes could do some healing and both captains and loremasters have pets as well.
As far as minstrel being labelled beginner and loremaster advance -- honestly I don't really know what that means LOL. Minstrel is the main healing class so it's function is pretty much defined I suppose however minstrel is one of those classes that is often played rather badly. Also minstrel can opt in for medium armour and a heavier avoidance build and stand up quite well in PvP and some higher end situation. With my build on my minstrel I can survive some pretty hairy situations in the very high end which helps when things go very badly on the tougher fights in game. For duoing purposes though I wouldn't anticipate any class to be *hard* including loremaster. Loremaster does have some survivability issues but the pets help with that -- loremaster can get frustrating within groups though because it's the main crowd control class and you get the typical breaking of your mezes etc.
The most diverse class is honestly burglar -- if you have a good feel for game mechanics this class can do almost everything. Huge avoidance abilities give you great survivability, stuns, mezes, group conjunctions that allow for stellar healing abilities etc. It's a very exciting class to play when you get in to it.
One neat thing about LOTRO is you can keep things as *simple* as you want them or get as *detailed* as you want them. My friends and I in my kin are constantly discussing builds, different build strategies, etc but we are also trying the toughest content in game and trying to get as efficient at it as possible. There's a lot of content in game that's just fun to do and can be done with any class combination and doesn''t require nearly as much thought.
As far as class suggestions -- captain for you/loremaster for your wife. I'd encourage one of you to explore burglar though because the ability to start conjunctions or fellowship manouvers is quite useful (the guardian skill that starts a conjunction has too much cool down on it and isn't reliable really not like burgs)
Hope this helps you
oh one other note -- with MOria there will be a *magic-like* class called Runekeeper that can dish out some really great DPS. Your wife will probably want to play with that class when it comes out.
Starting a new char now would be a good idea since as soon as mom is out there will be a lot of wardens and that other mage like class whos name i'v forgotten, since many of these new char will be made by hardcore players that already have played through the game once or twice you'll end up grouping with experienced players that know the best way to do most of the hard quests ad can get kinmates to help.
I'm not a no life that sits in front of his computer all day long, I'm an intern that sits in front of his computer all day long.
It's also helpful to know that there's some versatiity within each class, and it's not terribly difficult to switch roles in any given situation. While Champions are primarily melee damage dealers, they can switch stances, equip a shield and make serviceable tanks. Likewise, while Guardians are primarily tanks, they can switch stances, equip a two-handed weapon and deal some decent damage. Neither is as good as the other at the primarily role, but the entire class system is built upon flexibility for grouping. Don't have a Minstrel for the team? Take along a Captain and/or a Loremaster, as both have some healing ability.
As far as a duo goes, the class redundancy mentioned above means pretty much anything will work.
And I'm sure I've missed a lot. If you've been playing MMOs as long as you've stated, you can pretty much just ignore the "Beginner" and "Advanced" stuff. Nothing is going to be so easy that it's boring, and nothing is going to be so difficult that it's frustrating. While it's a very trite response to "what should I play?" posts on any forum board, "just play what you find the most enjoyable" actually works with LotRO. You'll be able to handle small fellowship quests with pretty much any pairing you choose. If I absolutely had to pick a duo that I thought was statistically superior, I'd probably go with a Champion/Minstrel duo. Champions can do a lot of damage to end fights fast, but they can also switch to Glory stance and pull aggro off the Minstrel when necessary. Even so, there just isn't a wrong answer here.
As far as starting, the different races do have their own little "newbie instances" where they learn game mechanics and whatnot, but they're quickly dumped out into the world at large. At that point, you can go to a stablemaster in the nearest large city (Celondim for elves, Thorin's Gate for dwarves, Michel Delving for hobbits, Bree-Town for men) and catch a horse to any of those other cities for a single silver piece (which is very affordable even at level 4). If you absolutely want to be together for the newbie instance (which takes you from about 1 to 4 or so), you'll probably want to be the same race.
Well it looks like she is going minstrel. I really like the sound of captain but I am not a fan of humans so gaurdian looks like what I am going to go with first.
Sounds like any combo works well which is nice to know, its a real problem we had with wow. I really like my priest but with her resto druid we couldnt do much.
How much repeatable if any quest/storyline stuff is there for one char? Trying to get an idea how long it would take to run out of content without raiding. We have had a real problem with WoW and running out of stuff to do and have to wait for months for a new content patch. There isnt any fun for just exploring in WoW like most other MMOs, just looking around can be fun but wow doesnt have enough to last long and really there isnt much for what I would call eye candy.
Any gains for exploring? Rep grind type stuff? How is the community as far as skill level? I understand for the most part its mature but is it like WoW , as in 90%+ of the players have no idea what they are doing and make life hard on the rest. We dont like joining groups to find a tank that wont tank, a healer that wont heal and dps that think its a good idea to pick a target and try to solo it.
Are there any cut scenes to progress the story like FFXI? and if so can you view them again? This is something that we felt really made FFXI stand out, feels more like you are in the game.
The responses are a good sign, no gtfo noob or useless reply is nice. Weill be two/three days before we get the game since we had to order it by mail. Will be US server. Does server population mater much?
Thanks for the info.
The community as a whole is very solid -- I can't vouch for everyone in it hehe, but it's not too hard to find solid groups really. As far as running out of content -- it's going to take a long long time to get through all of the content available atm starting now -- there are regular *book* updates that always add in more content also, and then there is a traiting system that requires mob grinding that practically no one has finished (I know of one person who has all their deeds/traits done and I'm in a higher end kinship hehe). I'm working on that myself but not even sure I"ll have them done before Moria. The landscape visuals in LOTRO are also understand to be in at least the top 3 of games out there -- there are complaints of the avatars I suppose, but the landscapes are amazing so exploring can be breathtaking.
As far as servor population goes -- yes it can matter, but there's not a huge difference I don't think. Landroval, Brandywine and Ellendilmir are the US servors with the most population. If you enjoy the RP element of MMO's I'd highly suggest Landroval -- we have a lot of fun on Landroval and it's a good solid community.
Touching on a couple of your questions:
-There really is a lot of content now, I'm a lvl 48 minstrel atm and have to choose which of the 4 appropriate areas I want to lvl in on any given session. I kind of wish there was a way to disable xp as I feel like there is so much content and I haven't done any raiding or PvMP yet.
-Traits, deeds, and rep will keep you busy for a while and provide some really nice rewards. Once I hit 50, I'll be working on those until MoM comes out.
-Yes, there are cutscenes relating to the main book questlines and they do a nice job of tying you into the game. And yes, you can watch them anytime once they are unlocked.
-Finally pick-up groups are hit or miss like anywhere but once you find a nice kin you won't have to worry about that.
If you roll on Firefoot, one of the smaller but I feel more closeknit servers, drop me a line (Virge) if you have any questions.
Well after 3+ hours of going through forums it seems Captain would be my best best, even if I am not a fan of humans(always seem overpopulated in every game).
I LOVED my bard in EQ and havnt found any class that I enjoyed as much in any other game. Captain sounds closest to what I am looking for(I think). Basically bard was every other class rolled into one, could do just about anything but not as good as the other classes. Part of the fun and challenge was knowing what to do and when because you could do so much. Could solo more then most classes could but often took a really long time to do it. The main thing I really liked was Bard buffs, the ability to turn a bad group into a good group or a good group into a great group I found fun. Always being welcomed in a group is nice, woohoo cool we got a "class" is much better than oh yuk a "class".
Although the Captian does sound similar some of the posts make it sound as if people dont really like captains. My wife will almost certainly be going with minstrel, she likes how the idea of how it works. I just dont want to play a class that will make getting groups hard.
I have seen a few posts that make it sound as if two minstrels are really powerful in a duo. Is that true? and if so what are the chances of people taking two minstrels?
The more I read about this game the more I think ill like it. Now if only I had something to do to pass the time instead of checking UPS for package tracker updates.....
I think you will like captains a lot.
- Good DPS but not as good as hunter or champ or burg
- Good Healing but not as good as ministrel
- Can even tank if you are traited properly and have a good deal of skill. Most of the time though you will just be pulling agro off of squishies.
- Great soloing if you are skilled with your pet (I only learned how to do this properly when I reached the level cap)
And captains can be traited to be solo oriented or group oriented. Properly traiting and buffing your party can make a world of difference.
Captain screams alote, which makes him ruther annoying with time. And he is sorter weak compare to all other meleer classes.
Try Lore-Master instead, you wont regreat it. A well played Lore-Master can do so many amazing things. And Lore-master is aways welcome in any groups.
It's funny you mention that. It's such a small thing, but it really did start to annoy me significantly when I played the class. I enjoyed their abilities and general class profile (I didn't see them as "weak" at all), but the regularity of the screaming and the sound itself really were an issue for me. I didn't want to turn down an entire category of sound effects just to get rid of that one, and I didn't have much luck locating instructions for removing the sound file from the game (if it's even possible).
To the OP, it may be that you won't be bothered by the screams at all; I see plenty of captains in the game, so it clearly isn't a major deterrence for many people. It's something to keep in mind as you play the class during the early levels, though. You'll be hearing that inital War Cry sound effect at least once in most of your fights. When fighting elites, you'll be hearing it quite a bit more, and it's awfully difficult to ignore.
For your wife Runekeeper sounds like a much better fit. Total glass cannon nuker or healer. Runekeeper lacks the buffs and rezzes of the minsrtel but has better healing and can be a powerful nuker (damage) should the fight demand or prefer it.
Seeing as Runekeeper is a new Mines of Moria class it will certainly be in high demand with fewer people playing it.
I agree that Captain sounds like a good fit for you and people already hit all the reasons why.
I'm not sure I agree with the highlighted section. If my experience with other MMOs has taught me anything, when new classes are added to the game, the vast majority of new characters you see will be one of the new classes. When MoM launches, I'd be astonished if the newbie areas weren't overflowing with Rune-keepers and Wardens, which would make getting groups as one of the other classes much easier initially.
If your point was that there will be fewer Rune-keepers at level 50, that may or may not be true. Certainly some of the people who try them out as alts won't make it all the way to the endgame, but I suspect enough will so that, by the time the OP and Wife make it to 50, there will be as many Rune-keepers as any other class.
That said, I'm sure a duo of Rune-keeper and Warden would work as well as anything, if not better, since one is described as medium tank and the other as a nuker/healer, depending on the situation. If they're starting immediately, however, that's not going to be an option unless they have remarkable patience. If I received a game in the mail, I don't think I could wait a month to start playing just so I could be a class everyone else is going to be.
Little story about how long we can wait.So not long after me wife and I got together I let her play FFXI because she was upset about how much I played, took all of 30mins for her to decide she wasnt going to give me my computer back.
I was forced to share with her until my next paycheck and we went and got her a computer. What we didnt plan for is the local walmart(only store to carry video games) not having FFXI. Nearest store we could find was a 3 hour (one way)drive away. So we took a 6 hour trip so we didnt have to wait 2-3days shipping.
Wait a month? not a chance.
We are going to do what we did with warcraft. Pick a few classes and level them each a bit. After we get 3 or 4 classes 10-15 levels we should have a good feel for the game mechanics and an idea of what class we like.
Going to start with the suggested classes first. Captain/Gaurdian/Loremaster for me. Minstrel/Loremaster for her.
It looks like we will enjoy this one. WoW has become all about gear. We like story driven games, not gear. We find that going to instance/raid A for the story/fun much better than going for "random piece of gear that never drops and will replaced in a month"
Lotro should be here in a few days /sigh, new video card for me too /cheer.
Welcome to the game. I been playing this game since closed beta started and i haven't looked back. This is a great game for couples to duo together in. Lots of content that you will find to keep you busy.
If you find yourself on the elendilmir server look me up. My mains name is grindalyx. I would be happy to help you anyway i can.
When the moria expansion comes out there will be the new classes that to me sound like a better fit for what your looking for. My main is a hunter and i have been on two raids in the time i been playing. Raiding is not a must do in this game. wich i like.
Goodluck in the game.
This was the one of reason I really didnt like WoW (even if I was a Warcraft fan before) and why I like LotrO so much! Hope you will enjoy it as much as I do and Welcome to Middle Earth
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
min's are strong a duo even better a tripple is jus crazy
but those that know a min played well can do some insane stuff..
a example of this hit the main forum up an check out a thread called shard dropers the big ones hehe.
but on the other hand for duo for party's i would go min burg the heals an a conja starter allways welcome in a party..
Been playing for a bit the last few days, been ill so havnt been able to do much. Now I have some real questions.
How does the money system work? I noticed the AH has some items up for 100s of silver, so is 100 silver = 1gold or is it 1000?
Is it just me or are low level crafting items very high priced?
How do you seperate a stack? driving me nuts on this one.
Is it worth it to start crafting asap or wait until higher levels? I have noticed I can craft gear that is better then quest/npcs have so it seems good. Also trying to figure out how it works in general. What effect skill level has, where recipes come from.
What is the time delay on skill use? I noticed abilities dont seem to go off as soon as I click them and I cant for the life of me figure out what its based on, this is only melee skills so are they effected by melee weapon speed?
Anyways thanks for info, we are having a lot of fun.
Of course you do
it's a great game!
DB
Denial makes one look a lot dumber than he/she actually is.
- 1000s = 1g
- No real need to AH while on your low(er) levels
- Shift + click and drag to another open slot in your bag
- As you play you will get better gear through quests, once you've mastered the top tier of crafting; you can craft some gear better than quest rewards. You should still craft through lower level so you can collect the materials as you play and quest so you do not have to go back and grind them when hit level 50.
Regarding combat, I assume you are using a captain? Depending on if you are using a 2H weapon or 1H + shield, a melee attack will take some time to complete. While the first skill is completing, you can queue up your next skill. In between executing the 1st and 2nd skills, an auto-attack will (almost always) execute. This is where the delay comes from. I too was pretty confused by combat until I figured out what was going on.
Hte advice I would give you is to research the characters then pick one and play taht one.......I played all 7 classes and by the time you get to the 6th and 7th one you will be bored to tears with questing........ Also the raiding in LoTRO is nowhere near the intensity that it was in EQ and the gameplay is very casual like WoW was not intense like EQ....... Also most of the players dont play their class all that well because there is no death penalty so they dont need to learn........ I found LoTRO to be fun for about a month but it is very simplistic and basically just running back and forth between NPCs doing quests......If thats your cup of tea then you should enjoy it.......If you like to fight monsters and do camps then it isnt going to be very enjoyable......At level 37 I literally killed mobs for 2 hours while talking to a friend on the phone and got less than 10 percent of a level.....After that I did a quest where all I had to do was talk to another NPC and got 15 percent...To me that is utter BS that they punish players for fighting and reward them for crap quests.